SINGLE REVIEW: Liam Payne feat. Quavo – Strip That Down

With all the members of One Direction working on solo projects there was always going to be one whose debut would be lacklustre at best. And up to this point I thought that person was Louis Tomlinson but Liam Payne has overtaken that title with his disappointing and cringe worthy lead single. “Strip That Down” is a mid-tempo RNB track that try’s to emulate the seductive sound of early Justin Timberlake and Usher but completely misses the mark at being sexy and instead is just embarrassing. The beat is average and had so much potential to have a cool breakdown or slick synths which would’ve given the song the extra texture it needed. The song fails to be catchy or memorable with a hook that sounds like a b-side that Usher turned down 10 years ago. And don’t even get me started on the lyrics. From the cringeworthy lyrics “You know I used to be in 1D (now I’m out, free), people want me for one thing (that’s not me). I’m not changing the way that I (used to be)” to the lacklustre chorus that could’ve been a much bigger moment. What’s even more irrelevant about this song is the feature from Quavo which doesn’t bring the “cool” factor that it is meant to. This could’ve been the start of a massive solo career for him but instead it’s just a painful reminder that he’s not Harry Styles.